IF you thought the Brinks Matt caper was a daring heist you didn't witness Edinburgh Scotwaste Monarchs' smash-and-grab Scottish Cup raid over Glasgow Tigers at Ashfield yesterday – it was daylight robbery.
Monarchs, who have won twice already at Saracen Park this season, were going for their third triumph but trailed by four points with once race left and looked a beaten squad.
But it all turned sour for the Tigers in the heat 15 finale.
Monarchs
' in-form ace Ryan Fisher was dicing with Tigers ace Robert Ksiezak and passed his rival for second place.
Ksiezak then crashed heavily into the safety fence, sustaining a suspected broken collarbone.
His Tigers partner Shane Parker then led the re-run but agonisingly suffered engine failure, handing Monarchs a gift 5-0 advantage and the match by the slimmest of margins, 45-44. The Capital outfit are now odds on favourites to lift the Cup in Friday's second leg at Armadale.
Even Monarchs boss John Campbell today admitted his side were very fortunate to win in what was a dress rehearsal for the sides' final Premier League match of the season next Sunday. Said Campbell: "It was a pretty dull meeting. We weren't in it until Glasgow gave it to us at the finish."
By common consent Monarchs were a bit below par and lacked their usual sparkle. Campbell agreed saying: "Matthew (Wethers) was certainly below par and Thomas (Piszcz) who was guesting for William Lawson wasn't as good as we had hoped for. But he had battered himself about a bit over the last few days and simply ran out of steam and bikes at the end of it all."
Passing was practically non-existent, Fisher and Tigers star Lee Dicken the only two riders who managed to overtake. And Campbell added: "Problems with rain and frost the previous day turned the track into a bit of a mess, to be honest.
"There was so much dirt about, it was very inconsistent. And nobody was going to risk their neck under such circumstances.
"It was still nice though to get a win in a meeting we were never in control of."
Tigers will undoubtedly feel they were the better side on the day but Monarchs were on the end of some appalling refereeing decisions, according to director Mike Hunter.
"It was a trainee referee who was in charge. And no less than three heats were stopped when Monarchs were on a 5-1.
"And, on two of the three occasions, it was Glasgow riders who were moving at the tapes, causing the stoppages in the first place.
"We got the worst of the other decisions as well. For example, first-bend incidents normally mean all four riders are called back for a restart. They were if Tigers riders fell. They were not if Edinburgh riders fell.
"So that has to be balanced out against the bad luck Glasgow had in the last race."
Hunter added: "It probably wasn't our best performance of the season. Only Ryan and Andrew (Tully) were really on song."
Certainly Fisher was flying and powered to a 17-point maximum from his six starts. Tully collected nine points.
However Piszcz, who had scorched to an 18-point full house not so long ago at Ashfield, could only muster five points this time. And Monarchs only picked up five points from the rider replacement cover for injured Swede Thomas Jonasson.
Aaron Summers picked up four points from reserve but confessed: "I probably should have done a bit better. The track was a bit bumpy and I had a few problems getting to grips with it.
"The Glasgow circuit is so different to how it used to be. You have to ride a lot wider now. And so much is dependent on getting into the first corner in front.
"We deserved our victory after the bad calls we got from the referee but you just have to live with them. I think we'll clinch the trophy and ride a lot better at Armadale on Friday."
Tigers: Parker 11, Ksiezak 8, Davey 6, Andersen 6, Dicken 5, Juul 4, Leverington 4.
Monarchs: Fisher 17, Tully 9, Sneddon 7, Piszcz 5, Summers 4, Wethers 3.
WILLIAM LAWSON scored four points and finished 13th in the World Under-21 Final at Pardubice in the Czech Republic on Saturday.
The full article contains 738 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
